finger boards

[Termite]

Hi Guys.....oops:rolleyes: and Girls.

any advice on fingerboards? Has anyone tried cutting them out of plastic?

Regards
Termite

[derekcohen]

Yes, can be bloody dangerous with pieces flying all over the show! I guess it depends what saw you use. I tried on a tablesaw, but this was too powerful. The trouble is the blade kerf on a bandsaw is too small (= too small a gap between fingers). I guess you could use one and cut fine fingers. A lot of work.

Why do you want to use plastic anyway? Offcuts of wood are far better. Cheaper, better flex/rigidity combination.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[mkcl]

Out of curiosity, what exactly was causing the pieces of plastic to fly all over the place? Every time I've tried to cut plastic on the table saw (not very often, but occasionally) I've found that it gives me really smooth cuts and I have had good control of the workpiece. In fact, I can't see any particular reason why plastic should cut all that differently to timber ... it's not especially tough to cut, so the saw just eats it up ...

Michael.

[derekcohen]

Michael

I have successfully cut perspex using a handsaw or my jigsaw. I'm sure that it would go well on my bandsaw as well. But it was an absolute disaster on my tablesaw. I think that this was too powerful and violent - too much speed and weight in the blade. Just shattered and pieces flew around like shrapnel! Of course, just to prove myself wrong I went and did it again immediately after this, didn't I?! Just about took myself out. At least I've learnt my lesson now.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[journeyman Mick]

Derek, what sort of blade were you using? I've succesfully cut acrylic (perpex) with a melamine blade (high tooth count, triple chip) other wise an aluminium blade (high tooth count, triple chip, negative rake) should work as well.

Mick

[derekcohen]

Mick

It was a 10" 80-tooth triple chip blade.

Should I repeat the "experiment"? :D :eek:

Regards

Derek

[journeyman Mick]

No well we don't want any accidents do we? I find it odd that you're having problems with it though, used to cut heaps of it when doing shopfitting work. It might be worth having a look at your table saw alignment (blade, fence and riving knife) even if you don't plan on cutting any, just to make sure all is well. :)

Mick

[mkcl]

Hi Derek,

As it happens, the plastic I've cut on my table saw was also perspex. No problems at all. I didn't use any special technique ... it was exactly like cutting wood for me. Maybe try what Mick suggested and make sure you didn't try feeding it too fast or something.

The perspex I was cutting was a sheet about 3mm thick. Is yours especially thick? Or especially thin and prone to deflecting/snapping as it is being cut?

It sounds like you might even be using a better blade than I did. My saw was fitted with the 20 tooth standard kerf blade that came with the saw. That's pretty coarse for most purposes, but it happened to be in the saw, and I didn't really need a very fine cut. I'm looking at a piece of the plastic I cut right now, and the result was a cut that shows the same marks as you'd expect on wood (cutting with a 20 tooth blade), but with only a small amount of chip out (feedrate occasionally too fast because I wasn't especially worried about the cosmetics) and dead straight. Your superior blade makes it even more surprising that I didn't have any problems, whereas you seem to be having a hazardous time cutting your plastic!

BTW, all my fingerboards are timber, and they work great! Plentiful odd-shaped pine offcuts make for a great raw material for fingerboards ...

Michael.

[derekcohen]

Michael,
I also was cutting 3mm perspex. In my case it was for a guard for the router table fence I built. Picture enclosed below. I had to route the slots but this was no problem. I really can't recall what the table saw blade height was at the time, but I suspect it might have been too high.

Mick,
I think the allignment is fine since I do not have any problems otherwise (such as burning or binding wood). Mmm. I will check it out tho, since I really would like to use my tablesaw to cut perspex - many projects in mind.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Pic of the perspex I cut:

[Termite]

Well I stired things up a bit about perspex, but it would be the last material I would even consider using for fingerboards. I was thinking more in line with the thick pvc sheet available at most plastic suppliers. Thanks for your comments folks.
Regards
Termite.
By the way, Great Table DEREKCOHEN::D

[Neo]

Derek,
Please tell us more about your router fence. I'm trying to get as many good ideas as I can can to work out what will be best for my fence.

Thanks

[derekcohen]

Neo

My router table is built as an extension of my tablesaw (12" Carba-tec), and uses the tablesaw fence to adjust my homemade router table fence. Quite cheap and easy to do, and it meets all my needs in this area. I did describe it at an earlier time, and the full thread is http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3504&highlight=router+fence

More pics are at
http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=4027331&a=30246831

In a nutshell, the fence is made from a 75x75mm aluminium section. The front was cut out for the router bit. The front is a sliding/adjustable MDF face. At the top is attached an aluminium molding in which I can run a perspex guard and a fingered hold down. The inside of the aluminium section is blocked off at the ends and middle so that a vacuum can be attached.

The fence is attached to the tablesaw fence with allen head bolts. This is only when needed. Most of the time the fence is detached.

Other aspects include an aluminium mitre gauge channel (from Carba-tec). I also have made a biscuit joiner - copied the Triton one! - and this connects with a bolt in the same way at the Triton. Used a 75x50mm aluminium section for that one. It worked extremely well. Can't recall when I last used it, though.

My router table really can't compare with some of the others here. There are some works of art just waiting for you to view. Just ask.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[journeyman Mick]

Derek, if your'e planning on a lot of projects with perpex here's a tip for smoothing the edges (you may already know it, but if you don't it may save some time). If you need to get a perfectly smooth and clear finish on a cut edge on perspex all you need do after giving it a sand to get rid of the saw marks is to wipe it over with some ether. I haven't bought any for years but I used to get it from pharmacies, however in these security conscious days it may be a bit trickier. Otherwise try a hobby shop, there are diesel model airplane engines (as opposed to glow plug) that run on a mixture of ether and castor oil.

Mick

[Wayne Davy]

Derek,

Nice job on the Router Table/Fence!



Neo,

If you want so more ideas on Router Tables, check out Dizzy's at
http://home.pacbell.net/jdismuk/routertable.html

It's what I based mine on which you can see here (go to my Workshop section and scroll down a bit).
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~wayne_davy/index.html

btw I also used a Triton Switch - totally recommended.

Best of luck building yours,

[derekcohen]

Mick

Thanks for the tip on ether. I didn't know that.

It's a while since I did any work with perspex (I have a few projects in mind, one of which is to build a new guard for my tablesaw, one that includes a dust collection system), and my memory is a little hazy. What I recall doing before is running a light flame over the edges. I had forgetton about this - better check to see if I remembered it correctly.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Dan]

With perspex (acrylic) being so brittle and all, is it the best material to be using as a guard ? If at all possible, Lexan would be a much better material to use. We use it at work for windows on overhead crane cabins and to all intents and purposes it is indestructable (we have tried fairly hard).

Dan

[derekcohen]

Dan

That makes sense to me. I only associate lexan with router table inserts - black, opaque material. Can you get it clear?

Thanks

Derek

[Dan]

Yep

http://www.polymerplastics.com/transparents_lexan.shtml